


Tidings of Comfort and Joy

by orphan_account



Series: Tidings 'Verse - Merlin Advent 2011 [1]
Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: F/M, Gen, M/M, Merlin Advent 2011
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-12-07
Updated: 2012-12-07
Packaged: 2017-11-20 14:01:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,129
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/586133
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Merlin is sneaky, and his dreams are way ahead of his time. </p><p>It all works out in the end.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Tidings of Comfort and Joy

**Author's Note:**

> This was originally written for day 8 of the [2011 Merlin Advent](http://merlinadvent.livejournal.com/) on livejournal, and beta'd by the wonderful [jelazakazone](http://archiveofourown.org/users/jelazakazone). 
> 
> The prompt for Day 8 was "Stuff my stocking."

A sense of anticipation filled Merlin at the thought of everyone's reactions come morning. Over the past few days, each of his friends had come to him asking for help with holes they had worn into various articles of clothing while out patrolling the border. Merlin would object to suddenly finding himself married to every single one of his friends, with all the work and none of the benefits, but he _wanted_ to help them. There was a Gwen-shaped hole in their group now, to go along with the hole left from Lancelot’s first foray into the afterlife, and Merlin would do anything in his power to help fill that void, including darning extra stockings and patching even more tunics and trousers.  
  
Looking at all of the travel-worn clothing in his possession after a long day helping Gaius look after a group of children who had come down with a vicious cold, telling them stories of Yules spent in Ealdor with his mother and Will, he’d had a thought. None of his friends had parents to celebrate Yule with – in fact, of the people in their little rag-tag band, only he and Elyan had family members still among the living, and Gwen was no longer welcome in Camelot.  
  
So here he was, the night before Yule, placing Leon’s mended stocking - filled to the brim with treats such as candied nuts and dried fruit, along with a new fur-lined pair of gloves - on the little table beside the knight’s bed, listening anxiously to his friend’s light snores. He had already finished sneaking in and out of everyone else’s rooms – thankfully, he managed to avoid waking Arthur _this time_ \- and now, task completed, he could head home to put the finishing touches on the gifts he intended to give them in person.  
  
In his little room once more, he tied a red ribbon around the wine he intended to give Gwaine and wondered if he should not have gone with the lovely dagger he had seen his friend eying, instead. Images of the rogue knight spiking the mulled cider everyone would drink at the feast filled his head, and he paused. It was not too late – he could use his magic to create a reasonable facsimile of the blade and imbue it with protective magic, rather than risk Arthur’s wrath at being the cause for a Yule scandal similar to the year before.  
  
Everyone had been a little high-strung, forcing themselves to have a good time even though the castle still bore signs of Morgana’s betrayal. Everything had been fine until Gwaine, Elyan, and Percival had taken it upon themselves to lighten the atmosphere and broken into the undiluted wine.  
  
Merlin, who had been serving at the high table, had watched his friends become merrier and mouthier the more they drank. At one point, Gwaine had gotten up on his table and invited the ladies of the court to come and sit on his lap and whisper in his ear what they wanted for Yule that year, his cheeks red from wine and his eyes twinkling with mirth. Leon had strode up to the jolly fellow, grabbed him by the back of his shirt, and dragged him out of the hall. Everyone in the room could hear Sir Leon reading Gwaine the riot act, and those who knew the man could also hear the poorly concealed undertone of amusement in his voice.  
  
Thankfully, all had ended well, but Merlin wondered if they would be able to repeat the narrow escape this year.  
  
Deciding that he was simply too tired to attempt any sort of complicated magic, Merlin finished wrapping all of the gifts and then collapsed onto his little bed. That night, he dreamed of strange places, filled with old friends dressed in unfamiliar garb and singing songs strange songs about chestnuts and open fires to the sound of instruments that could not be seen.  
 _2000  
“So hurry down the chimney tonight”, Gwaine crooned the final line and smoothed down the (open) shirt which had buttons all down one side and nothing underneath, and what looked like the oddest smallclothes Merlin had ever seen – they were made of silk, and covered in what must be some type of deer. His friend seemed to be leaving nothing to chance – but who was he flirting with?… Ah. Poor Percival. He might never be able to get that blush to go away. But then, he was smiling a little bit, even if it was a tad awkward, so perhaps Gwaine hadn’t managed to scar the sweet man for life.  
2002  
Why had anyone thought playing Secret Santa would be a good career-building activity for the holiday season? What about the people who didn’t celebrate Christmas? Merlin recognized the strange thoughts as his own, but could not understand them as he fished around for a slip of paper, only to find the name _ Arthur Pendragon _written in the man’s precise architect’s hand. He looked up from the creased paper and locked eyes with his boss, who he was starting to think appreciated him for more than just his secretarial abilities and his skills with straightening a tie._  
2005  
 _He watched his two best friends kissing passionately under the mistletoe which hung from the doorway to the kitchen, obviously forgetting they were not alone. He cleared his throat and smiled to ease their embarrassment. There couldn’t be a couple more deserving of happiness, and judging by the soft swell of Gwen’s stomach, Lancelot and Gwen were happy indeed. He couldn’t wait for them to announce it at dinner tonight, but just then, he needed to get more cider for his mother and Arthur._  
2008  
 _Elana was adorable, her hair disheveled from sleep and eyes intent, as she ripped into the brightly-colored paper. A soft ‘clink’ alerted Merlin to the presence of a tray with three mugs of hot cocoa. Growing up, his mother had made a pretty decent homemade hot cocoa, but George’s recipe had been the entire reason that Merlin decided not to kick up a fuss about Arthur having a butler when they first became a family. One sip was all it took; it was something that he did not think he could live without, now that he knew it existed. He selected his own mug with a smile and looked up at Arthur, who had a knowing look in his eyes. Yes. He wouldn’t change his little family for the world._  
  
  
In the morning when he woke, he would not remember the strange visions which danced through his head, but he would remember the sense of peace and goodwill which pervaded the images, and which he carried with him throughout the day as he celebrated Yule with most of the people he loved.


End file.
